Rubber.



H. MOORE.

RUBBER. I APPLICATION FILED' 1111132.14,l 1914.

1,100,319, Patented .Tulpe 16,1914.

HABLAN MOORE, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

RUBBER.

inocente.

Specification of Letters atent.

Patented J une 16, 1914.

Application filed March 14, 1914. Serial No. 824,747.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HABLAN MooRn, of New York,in the county of New York, and in the State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Rubbers, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The ordinary rubber shoe which has a heel portion, that is of the Oxford style, is troublesome to put on by reason of the close, or snug fit of the heel portion to the shoe, because of the contact of the shoe heel with the top edge of the heel portion of the rubber which bends, or crumples such top edge inward and usually necessitates the thrusting of the fingers into the rubber shoe for the purpose of stretching or pulling the heel portion thereof over the foot. This opera.-

tion is not only objectionable because of the likelihood of soiling the hand, or glove, but the pressure on the fingers, due to pinching, or squeezing, is disagreeable and sometimes painful.

The object of my invention is to overcome these troubles by a simple and inexpensive device which will add little or nothing to the original cost of the rubber and which will at the same time be an advantage in other respects, such, for example,

as strengthening the rubber at the heel where it is likely to split from undue pressure, protecting the lower portion of the garment of the wearer from wet, and adding to the comfort of the wearer in cold weather by furnishing additional covering for the foot.

My invention may be embodied in various forms and, indeed, besides being applicable to rubbers is also applicable to similar shapes of foot wear, such as slippers, or foot wear ofthe Oxford style, but in the accompanying drawings I illustrate my invention as adapted to the ordinary Oxford style rubber and in whichdrawings- Fi re 1 is a side elevation showing an Oxford style rubber provided with my invention, illustrating the manner of use of my invention; Fig. 2 is a view, in perspective, of a portion of the rubber showing my device when in its position for use when putting the rubber on.

The rubber 10, shown, is, as has been expl ained, of the ordinary Oxford type having the heel-protecting portion 11, as usual. To

= the upper edge of the heeLprotecting portion 11, and preferably extending well around on each side of the rubber forward, 1n the form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is a flap, or lip 12, preferably of some flexible and elastic material, such as rubber of which the 4rubber shoe itself is made, which along the line 13 that corresponds with the upper edge of the ordinary rubber, is adapted to be turned upward or downward so that in one case it occupies the raised position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and in full lines in Fig. 2, and in the other case the lowered position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, where'it is folded, or doubled over and snugly lits, or conforms to the contiguous heel-protecting portion of the rubber, in which last named position it forms a brace, or reinforcement for the rubber around the back of the heel portion and supports it against strains tending to` split, or tear it down the back. When in the raised position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the full lines in Fig. 2, it performs the function of a shoe horn, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1` to easily and comfortably guide the foot into the rubber, the top rear edge of the flap affording a convenient handle for the fingers, which are thus entirely out of contact with the shoe. When the rubber is on and the liap, or lip is in such vertical position, it constitutes additional' covering for the foot about the ankle over an area not reached by the ordinary Oxford rubber, and hence, is desir-able in cold weather for that purpose, and an additional protection against snow, or rain finding its way over the top of the rubber between it andthe shoe, is afforded. By reason of the flexibility and elasticity of the iap, it may readily be Vmade lto occupy the two positions shown, and as the turn inside out, so to speak, which takes place in shifting it from its raised to its lowered position places it under some slight tension when in its lowered position, it remains in its lowered position and forms a substantial support, or brace for the heel portion of the rubber. Contiguous to the line 13, which corresponds with the upper edge of the ordinary rubber, the flap is preferably enough less rigid as to cause it to readily bend or turn about such lino, or edge.

The flap can be cut out as a part, or inte gral with the stock forming the rubber upper, or it can be made as a separate. piece and afterward attached to the rubber. p

If desired, eyelet holes may be provided in the flap for the passage of a lace which may 4be tied across the instep to aid in holding the flap in its raised position,l or vstraps -maybe provided for the same purpose.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is- 1.- An article of foot wear of the Oxford type, having a flap at the heel portion which is shiftable vertically from a position below the top 4edge of the heel portion to one above the same, said flap being flexibly connected with the top edge of the heel portion, its movement taking place about the top edge ofthe heel portion and the flap reversing when it is shifted from one of its positions to the other. l p 2. An article of foot Wear of the Oxford type,' having a flap at the heel portion which is shiftable vertically from a position below `thetop edge of-tlie heel portion to/one above the same, said Hap being of elastic material and reversing when it is shifted from one of 

